Kundalini Yoga is full of it. Breathwork. Also known as Pranayama, one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga. Often specific movements are paired with specific breath patterns. A question I always come back to is “why?” Why is this specific movement partnered with this specific breath pattern? Why is this breath practice done in this way? In asking this question, I have learned that Kundalini Yoga is full of intention. Every movement, arm angle, hand position, breath rhythm has a purpose and a functionality designed to obtain a specific outcome. And breathwork is one of the most fundamental of those intentions.
From an accessibility standpoint, pranayama is an efficient modality for how mobile it is. Your breath is always with you and can be practiced at the DMV, in the waiting room at the dentist, or while you are walking down the street. It does not require special equipment. All of the tools already exist within you.
In early childhood, we naturally use diaphragmatic, or belly breathing, as our primary breathing technique. Then, around age seven, this pattern shifts to breath more in the chest cavity. Breathing from the chest cavity is often shallow and at a more rapid pace. This stimulates our sympathetic nervous system and has our body thinking we are in a stressful environment and immediate action is required to either fight, flee, or freeze. Diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve, and settles our body into a state of rest and digest. Due to the lower abdominal quadrants being stimulated, diaphragmatic breathing supports digestion, restoring deep abdominal strength, and nervous system regulation.
As we learn of this shift in breath pattern in our adult lives, we get to make a conscious choice as to whether we shift our breathing technique or not. If we choose to, we enter a period of unlearning lived patterns that we have held since about age seven. As these patterns start to be retrained, we provide our body with the opportunity to come back to its intuitive state of being.
Unlearning anything is hard. It takes patience, consistency, and compassion with ourselves. What is promising is that our body already has the original patterns wired and just needs us to go back in and do some conscious cleanup of the wiring system. In this phase, we start with the simplest form of the practice to give our body the experience of remembering what already exists within us. We keep it simple because we also want to stick with it. Small, consistent acts every day have a greater impact than expansive acts done sporadically. Frequent practice allows us to develop these skills in controlled environments, so that when we are in times of stress we can call upon these practices and they are readily available to us.
So, where do we start?
Begin with practicing diaphragmatic breathing. Here’s how:
Begin laying on your back on a flat surface. If laying flat is not available to you, this can be done standing with feet hips distance apart.
Rest your hands on your belly just at the navel center.
Breath in and out through the nose.
As you inhale, feel the belly press into the hands as it expands like a balloon filling.
As you exhale, feel the belly relax and visualize the balloon emptying.
Continue this pattern of steady breath causing the resting hands to rise and fall.
Inhale for a count of four. Exhale for a count of four.
As this rhythm becomes easeful, begin to exhale for a count of six allowing the exhale to be longer than the inhale.
There are many breath techniques that we will utilize throughout our exploration of yoga. This one will be the foundation upon which we build all other practices. Carry it with you everywhere you go. Become obsessed with it. Invite it to be your constant companion. Above all, be a yogic scientist and notice what is shifting. How is the quality of your breath? How is the capacity of your breath? What does it feel like when you walk up a flight of stairs? What does it feel like when you are laying in bed trying to fall asleep? Share your experience in the comments below.
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